Little value-add in Eastern Cape exports

Research undertaken by Port Elizabethbased Engeli Enterprises clearly shows how the European debt crisis has affected exports from the province. The impact is seen on exports to Italy, which is a major market for Eastern Cape calamari. The value of squid exports dropped from over R150 million in 2011 to just over R100 million in 2013. However, they recovered strongly in 2014 to reach much the same level in rand value as the 2011 peak. Volumes have however not recovered to the same extent as the rand has dropped in value compared to the euro since 2011. While exports of highvalue squid were hit by the ongoing Italian debt crisis, the export of vegetable products through the Eastern Cape has been growing steadily since 2008 – from just over R50 million in 2008 to more than R400 million in 2013. Analysis of the province’s major exports, which include hides and skins, shows that there is little value added. The value of hides and skins exported to Italy has grown from around R180 million in 2010 to around R550 million in 2014. Only a small fraction is processed to leather stage, with the bulk being exported as wet blue hides to Italy, whose leather industry then turns it into high-priced shoes and handbags. Similarly, wool exports are back to their pre-2012 levels in rand value, but the majority of the clip is exported unprocessed. INSERT R550m The value of hides and skins exported to Italy.